


2:00 A.M.

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Post War, Post-War, Romance, The Quidditch Pitch: Eternity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-11
Updated: 2009-02-11
Packaged: 2018-10-27 13:55:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10810380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: Hermione wakes up in a panic after having a recurring nightmare.





	2:00 A.M.

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

Hermione awoke with a start, covered in a cold sweat. She squinted up at the clock and groaned. 2:00 AM flashed across its face in an angry glare. She knew she shouldn't disturb Ron again at this time of night, but she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep until she knew he was safe. She needed her sleep, and she had a lot of paperwork to get through tomorrow. She couldn't afford to fall behind if she was going to have a shot at that big promotion. She would kill to be in charge of all the department's attorneys working on the Death Eater trials. She was so close she could almost taste it, and she would not let any ridiculous nightmares stand in her way.  
      
            Still, there was no sleeping in sight for Hermione without reassurance that Ron, her Ron, was perfectly safe from any harm. She knew in her head how silly and unnecessary it was, but a part of her could not shake the image of Ron lying on the grounds of Hogwarts, his normally bright blue eyes dull and lifeless.  
      
            She got up and put on her housecoat, tiptoeing carefully down the hall, not wanting to wake Harry. He got so few hours sleep as it was, constantly run down by his job. At least Ginny wasn't there to disturb, as she was gone away for a match against Puddlemere United. She knelt in front of the fireplace, using the Floo powder before sticking her head in and stating, “93 Diagon Alley.”  
      
            Hermione shut her eyes and waited impatiently for the spinning to stop. She finally found herself staring into the kitchen of the small flat Ron and George shared above the Diagon Alley branch of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.  
      
            “Ron?” she called out softly, hoping she wouldn't disturb George. “Ron?”  
      
            Hermione couldn't help but panic just the tiniest bit when Ron didn't emerge from his bedroom. Had something happened in the night?  
      
            Before she could work herself into a full-blown panic attack, she felt a tap on her shoulder, back in her own flat in Muggle London. She cursed under her breath; she must have woken Harry up. She reluctantly pulled herself away from Ron's kitchen and back out of her own fireplace.  
      
             She looked up and a shot of adrenaline ran through her, for standing above her was not Harry, but the very wizard she'd been looking for.  
      
            “Ron? What-”  
      
            Ron pulled her up and gently pressed his lips to hers, effectively silencing Hermione's questions. She let out a breath of relief. Her Ron was here, holding her, safe and sound.  
      
             “Harry told me you were having another nightmare, so I came over,” Ron said simply, but a worried frown creasing his forehead gave him away.  
      
            Hermione let out a shaky laugh at the situation, which was quickly stifled by a stab of guilt at having disturbed both Harry and Ron during their precious few hours of sleep.  
      
            Ron held her out at arm's length and locked eyes with her. Hermione was horrified at the realization that her eyes were shining with tears. This was absolutely ridiculous; everything was fine, there was no need for her to be crying. Ron smiled and gently wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

  
            “Let's go to bed, love,” he said, and steered her toward her bedroom, one arm over her shoulders.  
      
            Hermione allowed herself to be guided back into bed, suddenly groggy from exhaustion. This wasn't fair to Ron, her always getting him out of bed in the middle of the night like this. Not when he was just as busy with work as she was. She was selfish and horrible and she didn't deserve to have such an amazing man care for her as Ron did.  
      
            Hermione began to cry in earnest at this realization, muffling her sobs with her pillow. She heard Ron crawl under the covers and felt him pull her close. He placed a tender kiss on the back of her neck and stroked her hair, making soothing sounds.  
  
            “Hermione,” he whispered, “please tell me what's making you so upset.”  
  
            Ron was so sweet and such an incredible boyfriend. He was always full of laughs and surprises, and he had matured so much in the past few years. He was beautiful both inside and out, and who was she?

  
            She was a selfish, horrible, bookish, plain-Jane bore who worked too hard and never had any fun. What could this perfect wizard laying next to her see in someone like that?  
  
            “It's just...” Hermione sobbed, trying to think of the most effective words to get her point across, but her thoughts were all muddled from the lack of sleep. “I don't deserve you.” She burrowed further under the covers to hide her face, which she could feel growing warm.  
  
             “Have you gone bloody mad?” sputtered Ron.  
  
            “Watch your language,” Hermione mumbled automatically.  
  
            Ron chuckled and rubbed Hermione's back through the covers. “You are the most incredible, brilliant witch I've ever known, and you are so far out of my league that I honestly have no idea why you even glance in my direction.”  
  
            Hermione peeked out from under the covers, slightly comforted by his compliments.  
  
             “Hermione, look at me.”  
  
            She raised her eyes and her heart melted as she saw the love she felt reflected in Ron's piercing blue eyes.  
  
            “Don't you ever think that you don't deserve me. You... you deserve the world,” Ron stated simply, as if this was a commonly known fact.  
  
            Hermione allowed herself a tiny smile, and weakly nudged Ron in the shoulder, trying to lighten the mood. “This is why I keep you around, you know.”  
  
            Ron rolled his eyes. “Go to sleep, I'll be right here.”  
  
            Hermione could feel sleep taking over, and she surrendered to her heavy eyelids.  
  
            “My knight in shining armour...” she mumbled, and the last things she heard before she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep was Ron's soft chuckle and his whisper.  
  
            “You bet.”

 

 


End file.
